JokuTyyppi

Open cortana, and tell her that you don't want her anymore.

Howdy, fellas!
 
Now that the case is painted, its time for assembly!

 

 
Here it is, all painted and dried. Some of the cuts can be seen if you look closely, but I'm happy & surprised with the result!
 
So, @JokuTyyppi came over to help me with the assembly (thanks, man!). He got some Noctua Redux fans from the local shop, they fit the color quite well:

 
Only pull, yes. No other way to 1) keep the case cool and 2) have enough space for the mobo & graphics card
 
Trying the mobo

 
Fits well, onward!
 
I finalized the USB hub (soldered the cables and installed using hot glue), the rest of the mobo cables were installed, too

 

 
The SSD (240GB Kingston HyperX Fury) was installed to the side panel using double-sided tape, then it was the time to install the rad+fan assembly. Of course,  it didn't fit without first taking out the mobo.. So, unscrew, remove cables and try again -> fits like a glove.

 
Screwed in the bracket to secure the rad, reinstalled the mobo and on we go with the tubing!
Pump -> rad -> CPU -> GPU -> reservoir -> pump. A fill/drain "port" is at the end of the tube leaving the T-piece at the pump.


 
In went the PCIe power cables, the PSU and it was time to fill her up!
First, face down:

 
Back on her feet, trying to get rid of air.. Seems to go quite well. Reddish coolant so possible leaks can be seen easily, will change to clear later.

 
Power supply in place and...... Boot up!

 

 
That drain needs some work, maybe some holders to keep the tube up against the rear aluminum or something, we'll see
 
That's a pretty tight fit, have to say. Not many millimeters of space between the GPU and rad, or the mobo and the PSU
 
Once the side is ready, I call this done. 
 
Cheers,
 
Razbit

It has now been running untouched since my last update and it has been great! Just thinking about getting RPI 2 to speed up owncloud a bit... It is a shame that RPI 2 didn't come with gigabit ethernet either, and that would have been my main reason to upgrade to it. 

Well that is a new approach to noctua colours Well done! Are you going to paint that gpu also? (sorry if you had already told it but it is 2am here so i was too tired to read everything)

PROGRESS THUMB
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  (___)__.   |_____                              LOOKING GOOD THUMB
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Legos are not cheap. If you want cheap you go to the hardware store, get some threaded steel rods, a few nuts of the same thread size, plastic tubing, some square wooden rods (1"x1"), and sheet of quarter inch plywood. All in all, the materials and quantity that you need for this should be around $20. The rest is just a bit of work with drilling some holes, drilling screws, cutting plastic tubing to make spacers between the pi's, etc.

Good to hear My sata -> usb adapters are stolen from existing external drives but you can get them from t.ex eBay or from your local pc hardware stores

Very cute little NAS, love it

[uPDATE 20.2.2015Final]
 
My Raspberry Pi home server is now finally completed First it was just about trying out something new and more reliable than just our home router with a hdd but after keeping it running for about a year, I decided that it is really going to stay and it needed a nicer case and most importantly, only one psu instead of four I wanted to make it as compact as possible, while still remaining some kind of airflow inside. I think the hardest part was actually the aluminum top and front as making it look nice took a ton of time and a LOT of nerves There were some nasty complications with the varnish on the aluminum so the finish is not as beautiful as it was but I am definitely not going to take the varnish off for third time, it is a real PIA.
 
Thanks to my friend Razbit for providing some of the electronics, soldering those small wires straight to the pcb and making some things not so f*cked up
 
In future I might change the model B Pi to some other small form factor pc that has a gigabit connection but it is not going to happen anytime soon  
 
Feel free to comment!
 
Here are some pics:
 

 

 

 

 
See u around

[uPDATE 20.2.2015Final]
 
My Raspberry Pi home server is now finally completed First it was just about trying out something new and more reliable than just our home router with a hdd but after keeping it running for about a year, I decided that it is really going to stay and it needed a nicer case and most importantly, only one psu instead of four I wanted to make it as compact as possible, while still remaining some kind of airflow inside. I think the hardest part was actually the aluminum top and front as making it look nice took a ton of time and a LOT of nerves There were some nasty complications with the varnish on the aluminum so the finish is not as beautiful as it was but I am definitely not going to take the varnish off for third time, it is a real PIA.
 
Thanks to my friend Razbit for providing some of the electronics, soldering those small wires straight to the pcb and making some things not so f*cked up
 
In future I might change the model B Pi to some other small form factor pc that has a gigabit connection but it is not going to happen anytime soon  
 
Feel free to comment!
 
Here are some pics:
 

 

 

 

 
See u around

I'm so annoyed that i've only just seen this but DAMN is this thing nice, and the case aint too bad either. these raspberry pi's are just a fountain of opportunities it seems, well done!

[uPDATE 20.2.2015Final]
 
My Raspberry Pi home server is now finally completed First it was just about trying out something new and more reliable than just our home router with a hdd but after keeping it running for about a year, I decided that it is really going to stay and it needed a nicer case and most importantly, only one psu instead of four I wanted to make it as compact as possible, while still remaining some kind of airflow inside. I think the hardest part was actually the aluminum top and front as making it look nice took a ton of time and a LOT of nerves There were some nasty complications with the varnish on the aluminum so the finish is not as beautiful as it was but I am definitely not going to take the varnish off for third time, it is a real PIA.
 
Thanks to my friend Razbit for providing some of the electronics, soldering those small wires straight to the pcb and making some things not so f*cked up
 
In future I might change the model B Pi to some other small form factor pc that has a gigabit connection but it is not going to happen anytime soon  
 
Feel free to comment!
 
Here are some pics:
 

 

 

 

 
See u around

Wooooooowwwww! It looks so clean!

Just as zen as it should be! Gratz m8!

[uPDATE 20.2.2015Final]
 
My Raspberry Pi home server is now finally completed First it was just about trying out something new and more reliable than just our home router with a hdd but after keeping it running for about a year, I decided that it is really going to stay and it needed a nicer case and most importantly, only one psu instead of four I wanted to make it as compact as possible, while still remaining some kind of airflow inside. I think the hardest part was actually the aluminum top and front as making it look nice took a ton of time and a LOT of nerves There were some nasty complications with the varnish on the aluminum so the finish is not as beautiful as it was but I am definitely not going to take the varnish off for third time, it is a real PIA.
 
Thanks to my friend Razbit for providing some of the electronics, soldering those small wires straight to the pcb and making some things not so f*cked up
 
In future I might change the model B Pi to some other small form factor pc that has a gigabit connection but it is not going to happen anytime soon  
 
Feel free to comment!
 
Here are some pics:
 

 

 

 

 
See u around

[uPDATE 20.2.2015]
 
 
Hello again, the aluminum cover is now finished and is being glued to the rest of the build right now. I just decided to give you some pictures before showing off the finished build tomorrow. I think the aluminum came up pretty nice for what kind of equipment I had It is not perfect, but looks pretty damn good to my eye at least  On the other hand, the wooden part of this build is not quite straight I tend to do things a little (but luckily only a little ) f*cked up and I have a motto that I never get anything straight ( In terms of things, not people ) Sooo there will be some gaps between the aluminum and the rest, but you'll see tomorrow I hope '
 
So here is the aluminum top and front cover: 
 

 

Yeah, even 80c wouldn't be much for a high end gpu A stock 780 for example would easily do 80c or an Amd R9 290x is 95c out of the box with reference design cooler So you are fiiiine 

[update 7.2.2015]
 
Everything is finally ready except the aluminum which is still waiting to be etched and brushed. I have already installed the components in to the case to see if it is working and IT IS! I think it is quite awesome to have all of those things powered with only one psu and have them crammed in such a small case
 
Sorry for the pictures not being that beautiful as the thing was running when I took the pics and it isn't placed where it'll permanently be when ready.
 

There is a switch for the second hdd so that it won't run all the time and is safe from some spikes in electric network

[update 7.2.2015]
 
Everything is finally ready except the aluminum which is still waiting to be etched and brushed. I have already installed the components in to the case to see if it is working and IT IS! I think it is quite awesome to have all of those things powered with only one psu and have them crammed in such a small case
 
Sorry for the pictures not being that beautiful as the thing was running when I took the pics and it isn't placed where it'll permanently be when ready.
 

There is a switch for the second hdd so that it won't run all the time and is safe from some spikes in electric network

[update 7.2.2015]
 
Everything is finally ready except the aluminum which is still waiting to be etched and brushed. I have already installed the components in to the case to see if it is working and IT IS! I think it is quite awesome to have all of those things powered with only one psu and have them crammed in such a small case
 
Sorry for the pictures not being that beautiful as the thing was running when I took the pics and it isn't placed where it'll permanently be when ready.
 

There is a switch for the second hdd so that it won't run all the time and is safe from some spikes in electric network

[update 7.2.2015]
 
Everything is finally ready except the aluminum which is still waiting to be etched and brushed. I have already installed the components in to the case to see if it is working and IT IS! I think it is quite awesome to have all of those things powered with only one psu and have them crammed in such a small case
 
Sorry for the pictures not being that beautiful as the thing was running when I took the pics and it isn't placed where it'll permanently be when ready.
 

There is a switch for the second hdd so that it won't run all the time and is safe from some spikes in electric network

[uPDATE 29.1.2015]
 
Now the wooden pieces are put together and it is waiting for a paintjob and the aluminium top and front covers. It is going to be a really tight  fit with the Usb-hub and the Sata -> Usb adapters.
 
I have also bought a WD Red 2tb and migrated all the files there. The secondary hdd will be stolen from my main pc (WD Green 2tb). The original 1tb drive that was with this Nas had 19500 hours on it!! I thought it would be time to switch to a new one
 
I'll let the pictures talk as I'll have to continue reading for tomorrows history exam...
 

The barebone case
 
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This is how the backpanel IO is going to be. It is not attached to anything in that pic so it is not straight.
 

You see how tight it is? And those drives aren't the ones to be in this system. Seagate: No thank you!

Just a quick write-up of making the connector board.
 
So, JokuTyyppi asked me what kind of connector system would be good, and I said I'll figure out something. After looking around for a while, I found these:

 
I thought they could make a good connector board, but after desoldering the ethernet connector, I found out it had internal optocouplers or something, so I had to go look for another connector. We decided having some USB ports in the back wouldn't hurt, this is what I came up with:

 
I started by soldering it and the Molex connector to the board, accompanied with a short ethernet cable to go to the Raspberry Pi:

 
Then, the power lines:

 
And USB:

 
The soldering:

 
Also, since the RPi only has two USB ports, a hub was needed. Here it is, all done. (except for some hot glue for keeping it together.. )

 

 
There ya go, buddy!

Looking good!
 
Here's what the board looks like at the moment, gettin' there:

 

 
I'll try to finish it today..

of course I am from Finland so i don't spell the words in english in my mind